There are four EXIT Advent calendars you can buy right now, and on a shelf they look like the same box in four colors.
That is partly true. In the publisher’s descriptions, all four follow the same format: 24 doors, one riddle a day, and a solution that tells you which door to open next. What separates them there is the story. We have not compared the four booklets side by side, so difficulty and fiddliness may differ as well.
The decisions that matter more are about your December: who is playing, whether you will be home every day, and whether you are ready to cut the box apart. Those come first here.
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The Short Answer
- Want the 2026 calendar? The Magic of Christmas, the newest story in English.
- Want Santa’s workshop at the center of it? The Silent Storm.
- Want a story set on a film studio lot instead? The Missing Hollywood Star.
- Science fiction fan in the house? The Intergalactic Race.
- Already finished one? Any of the others. Each is a separate story.
How an EXIT Advent Calendar Works
A note on sources first. Thames & Kosmos publishes the full rule sheet for an earlier calendar, The Mystery of the Ice Cave, and that is the one quoted on this page. The rule sheets for the four calendars below are not online, although the publisher does post refill guides for some of them. The publisher describes all four with the same door to door structure, and a published review of The Intergalactic Race by Escape the Roomers describes the same decoder and symbol check. Where a detail comes only from the Ice Cave rule sheet, we say so.
The calendar itself is the game board, and only the first door is labeled. Each day you:
- Tear out that day’s sheet from the story book and read the next chapter.
- Open a door when the text tells you to, and use what is behind it to solve the riddle.
- Turn the answer, a three digit code, into directions to the next door.
In the Ice Cave rule sheet, the code is set on a small decoder that you turn over to reveal three arrows. You follow them from door to door, and you know you have reached the right one because the three symbols printed on it match the decoder. Then you write the next day’s date on that door, so you know where to start tomorrow.
If you get stuck, a help book gives a first clue, a second clue, and then the solution for each day, one fold at a time.
Four Things to Know Before You Buy
It is one team, not a race
The Ice Cave rule sheet puts it plainly: for one player or one team. Nobody wins and nobody loses against anyone else at the table. If your family needs a game with a winner, this is not it. If you want something everyone works on together, one door a day, that is exactly what it is.
You cannot skip ahead
The riddles have to be solved in order, and the rule sheet tells you to keep every component until the last day, because you may need it again.
The practical consequence is December travel. A family away for three days does not skip three doors. They come home to three riddles in a row, and have to solve them in order before they are caught up.
You will need scissors
The Ice Cave rule sheet asks you to supply a pen, a pencil, paper and scissors, and the scissors come out before the first riddle, to cut the strips for the decoder. The Room Escape Artist review of The Intergalactic Race lists a marker for labeling the doors, scissors, and tape as well.
It is used up, so do not buy one secondhand
The rule sheet allows you to label, fold and cut the material, and says much of that is necessary. Thames & Kosmos lists the calendars as one time use on its own store. By Christmas the box is spent, which makes an opened copy a bad buy: you cannot tell from the outside what is missing or already solved.
If pieces get mixed up during the month, the publisher posts refill guides online, including ones for The Missing Hollywood Star and The Intergalactic Race, that show where each piece belongs. Both the refill guides and the Ice Cave rule sheet suggest asking someone who is not playing to sort it out, so nobody sees the next riddles early.
The Four Calendars
All four had an active offer on Amazon when we checked on October 1, 2026. Stock moves in the weeks before December, which is why the date is here.
If you search for the 2026 calendar, you may also come across The Hidden Level. That is the 2026 calendar from KOSMOS, the German publisher behind EXIT, released in Germany on September 7, 2026, and it is a German edition: its rules and filling plan on the KOSMOS site are in German. The calendar Thames & Kosmos sells in the US this year is The Magic of Christmas.
The Magic of Christmas
The newest of the four in English, and the one sold as the 2026 calendar. You stop to rest in a forest clearing on a winter hike, hear a loud bang, and wake up to find the forest enchanted, snow everywhere, and your own hands covered in green fur. Opening a door each day is how you find out what happened.
Worth knowing: on October 1, 2026, it was available both on Amazon and in the publisher’s own US store. If you want this one in particular, do not leave it until late November.
The Intergalactic Race
Released in 2025. A stranger at a space bar hires you onto his team for a 24 day race across the cosmos, and the winner gets to host the Christmas party from then on. The published description puts it at 10 and up and repeats the rule that shapes every calendar: the first door is labeled, and after that only each day’s solution tells you where to go next.
Worth knowing: the Escape the Roomers review notes that on two of the trickier days there is an alternate puzzle you can swap in. The Ice Cave rule sheet has nothing like that, which is a good reminder that these calendars share a format, not identical rules. The story is set in space, but it is still a race for Christmas, and one published description opens with Team Santa needing help.
The Missing Hollywood Star
Released in 2024. You are a pizza delivery driver arriving at a film studio in the middle of shooting a Christmas blockbuster, except the set is dark and empty, the star is gone, and a trail of footprints in the fake snow leads to a hole in the studio wall.
Worth knowing: going by the publisher’s description, this is the one set on a film lot rather than around Santa, which makes it the pick if Santa is the part your family would rather skip.
The Silent Storm
The oldest of these four, and the third EXIT Advent calendar Thames & Kosmos released. You are one of the toymakers in Santa’s workshop when a storm hits, the doors lock, and the workshop goes quiet. The publisher’s own pitch is short: help Santa save Christmas by solving a riddle every day leading up to the 25th.
Worth knowing: of the four, this is the story built most directly around Santa and saving Christmas, so it suits a family that wants the holiday front and center.
Can You Play an Older Calendar in a Later Year?
Nothing in the Ice Cave rule sheet ties the game to a particular year. Each daily sheet carries a day of December, not a year. An older calendar bought new plays the same way in any December.
That also means the choice is not really about which one is newest. If someone in the family has already done one, any of the other three is a different story.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the 2026 EXIT Advent calendar come out?
It is already out. The English-language calendar for 2026 is The Magic of Christmas, and on October 1, 2026 it was available both on Amazon and in the Thames & Kosmos store. In Germany, KOSMOS released a separate 2026 calendar, The Hidden Level, on September 7, 2026, with German-language rules.
How many people can play an EXIT Advent calendar?
The Ice Cave rule sheet says one player or one team, and gives no upper number for the team. The Room Escape Artist review notes that it is hard to see clearly inside the small, dark rooms behind the doors, which is worth keeping in mind with a big group.
What age are they for?
The rule sheet we read puts the format at 10 and up, and the published description gives the same age for The Intergalactic Race. Check the box for the other three before buying for a younger child.
Can you reuse an EXIT Advent calendar?
No. Thames & Kosmos lists them as one time use. The riddles involve labeling, folding and cutting the components, so by Christmas the calendar is spent.
What do you need besides the calendar?
A pen, a pencil, paper and scissors, according to the Ice Cave rule sheet. In that calendar the scissors are needed before the first day, to cut the decoder strips.
What happens if you miss a day?
You pick up where you stopped. The riddles have to be solved in order, so missed days turn into several riddles in a row when you get back.
What if a piece is missing?
The Ice Cave rule sheet notes that every copy is assembled by hand and asks you to contact the publisher if something is missing. If pieces have only been mixed up, the refill guides show where each one belongs.
Is it the same as a regular EXIT game?
It is part of the same series, and the publisher calls each calendar an EXIT game and a 24 day adventure in one. A regular EXIT box is a single session, somewhere between about 45 minutes and two hours depending on the box. The calendar spreads 24 riddles across December, one door at a time.
Where to Start
If you want the 2026 calendar, buy The Magic of Christmas, and buy it early.
If the family wants Santa’s workshop at the center of it, buy The Silent Storm.
If you would rather the story were not about Santa, buy The Missing Hollywood Star.
If there is a science fiction fan in the house, buy The Intergalactic Race.
Whichever you pick, put a pair of scissors next to it on December 1, and do not buy one that has already been opened.
If you have never played an EXIT game and want to try the format before committing to 24 days, our list of the best EXIT games to start with covers the regular boxes, ranked by difficulty.
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